by Cynthia Tinapple on September 13, 2011 · 5 comments
Carol Simmons shares a kaleidoscope software program that she uses to sample colors and try out designs. (Kaleider is for PCs only and offers a free trial.) Carol rotates and recombines student Nettonya Ryane’s polymer slice for amazing effect.
These colors are taken from Nettonya’s favorite fabric. Carol talks about the value of looking at fabrics for color inspiration. Many of us don’t sew and feel guilty about collecting fabrics for the simple pleasure of looking at them. No more guilt.
Carol swears she’ll work only in earthtones in Colorado. Maybe she’s cleansing her palette! Pictures from Colorado as soon as the network is more stable (apparently our group crashed it).
These polymer covered eggs are remarkable not just for cheery seasonal fun but because they were created by students using an ingenious, no-fail method developed by Carol Simmons.
On the groups’ Facebook page, you can examine these eggs and other objects created last weekend at the Buckeye Bash in Dayton. Using kaleidoscope-patterned canes, Carol’s students created consistently successful veneers.
Her egg formula involves four strips of cane slices, some math calculations and a template. Unfortunately I left before all the secrets were revealed. The Ohio class was Carol’s dry run for her new class called “Intricate Cane Veneers.”
Dede Leupold gives me a vicarious thrill on a day when I can’t get to my own studio. She posted pictures from her process in creating a masterful kaleidoscope cane on Facebook.
It takes thought and planning to achieve such delicate shading and color combinations that sing. Here are earlier looks (1 and 2) at Dede’s work and the jewelry made from her canes on her Esty site.
by Cynthia Tinapple on August 12, 2008 · 5 comments
Colorful, controlled, contemporary canes from three different artists. Marcia of MarsDesign, Ronit Golan, and Rebecca of RGCreations. The millefiori, image-building and kaleidoscope processes that drove the development of our craft remain strong today as exhibited by these fine examples. Visit their sites to see how they’ve refined their techniques.
My studio’s reconfigured and waiting for me to do a little caning.
